Brevard College let a 13-point first-half lead slip away, but erased a nine-point deficit in the final six minutes to defeat Tusculum College 63-55 in a South Atlantic Conference Women's basketball game Tuesday night at Pioneer Arena.

Katie Williams scored a game-high 16 points and hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 3:37 left, part of a five-point possession that helped the Tornados (1-3, 1-2 SAC) close the game on a 21-4 run after trailing 51-42 with 5:43 left.

Blakeley Burleson and Nequoiah Anderson each finished with 10 points for the Pioneers (0-4, 0-3 SAC) while Kristen McMillion had nine points and career highs of 13 rebounds and five blocked shots, but Tusculum could not capitalize on Brevard's 29 percent shooting in the game as the Pioneers finished slightly better at just under 30 percent.

The difference came at the foul line, as the Tornados went 21-for-30 at the stripe while the Pioneers were 12-for-14 in the game. Brevard also shot 8-for-23 from three-point range compared to a 1-for-14 performance from Tusculum.

Tusculum trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half and faced a 28-18 halftime deficit, but held Brevard without a field goal for nearly eight minutes during a 28-11 run.

Two free throws from Brianna Mitchell with 5:43 left gave Tusculum a 51-42 lead, but two foul shots from Hadara Bannister and a three-point play by Williams kicked off a run of 15 straight points by Brevard over a 3 1/2 minute span.

A three-pointer by Taylor Hiatt cut the Pioneer lead to 51-50 with 4:19 to go, and Williams drilled the go-ahead three as Chelsea Turner was fouled underneath. Turner's two free throws gave the Tornados a 55-51 lead, and a Jennifer Martin putback extended the Brevard advantage to 57-51 with 2:13 left.

The Pioneers tried to keep pace as Burleson and McMillion scored baskets, but a three-pointer from Turner with 1:31 left gave the Tornados a seven-point edge at 60-53. Tusculum would get no close than five points in the final minute as Brevard won for the first time in seven trips to Greeneville.

Both teams struggled from the field in the first half, as Brevard shot 28.6 percent (10-for-35) but Tusculum hit just five of its 31 attempts (16.1 percent) and misfired on all eight of its three-pointers. Burleson led the Pioneers with six first-half points while Turner and Chezney McJunkin each accounted for six points for the Tornados with a pair of three-pointers.

Mitchell finished the game with eight points and nine rebounds in 30 minutes for the Pioneers, while Shynese Whitener had nine points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Tusculum made 13 steals on Brevard's 19 turnovers, converting the miscues into 16 points.

Hiatt ended the game with nine points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Turner had 11 points, seven boards and four assists. Bannister added eight points, five rebounds and four assists for the Tornados, who were outrebounded 50-46 by the Pioneers in the game.

Tusculum will return to action Friday afternoon at 5:30 as they face North Georgia in a neutral-site game at Clayton State University in Morrow, Ga. The Pioneers will then turn around and play the eighth-ranked Lakers on Saturday at 1:30.